The Sun Also Rises

...With as often as we Disney photographers photograph sunsets, dusk, and night--yet seldom shoot the sunrise--this is something worth remembering!

We just returned from an amazing New Year's Eve weekend trip to Walt Disney World; it really was the perfect way to cap a year of trip-taking that has been extraordinary for us. On this particular trip, we enjoyed New Year's Eve festivities and fireworks for the first time at Walt Disney World, stayed in the most impressive hotel room either of us have ever seen, made some great memories with new and old friends, enjoyed a surprise (well, surprise to me) early birthday dinner at Citricos. Oh, and we saw the sunrise in the Magic Kingdom. Twice.

One of those sunrises is obviously the subject of this photo. While the sunrise wasn't the highlight of this trip, it was a really cool experience and something every Disney photographer should experience at least once. When rumors of the 24-hour event first leaked a couple of weeks ago, my mind immediately turned to sunrise shots as I figured that might be my "one shot" at such an experience. Then, after thinking about it a bit, I realized that, if we so chose, we could be in the parks for a couple sunrises on this New Year's trip. (One of the trade-offs of the heavy crowds is longer operating hours.) So, on the first full day of our trip, after being the very last Guest out of the Magic Kingdom the previous night--or same morning, I suppose--just before 2:30 am, I returned to the Magic Kingdom at 6:25 am to be the fifth Guest to enter the Magic Kingdom.

While this sunrise photo sparks fond memories of the trip, it's not nearly as special to me as the memories of riding Dumbo and the TTA as the sun began to peak over the horizon. Sunrise truly is a magical time in the Magic Kingdom.